I feel like the word has been thrown around so much in the past 10 years since the introduction of the casual MMO that it has lost all sense of meaning. And with 2.0 fast approaching, hopefully full of hardcore content, I feel like we need to get the misconceptions out of the way. Now let me preface by saying I am no hardcore player, and I do not claim to know what "hardcore" means; clearly, I couldn't be qualified to do so having never been there myself. But im old enough to have been around the way in the days of Lineage II, DaoC, Asheron's Call, Diablo, and Everquest...so I at least have an "image" or an "impression" of the idea in my mind. On with it then.


From what I understood, hardcore was about risk and difficulty. I remember game modes where if your character died, that was it, you had to reroll. I remember systems that seemed so complicated (D&D says hi, for me anyway) that you actually had to be smart in order to do well. And then there were bosses that were so stupidly overpowered, you had to be extremely proficient to actually win. More or less, this is my image of hardcore as I recall it. A place where few would bother treading, and fewer would have anything to show for it.


But somewhere along the way I keep hearing about other things being hardcore, that don't quite fit what I remember. Things like low-drop rate content, super rare items, lottery type gear upgrades...etc etc. But for me, as a player, anyone can achieve those things with luck. Heck anyone can achieve those things with time. So, honestly, can it really be called hardcore? Like I said, hardcore as I remember it filtered out a lot of ppl. It was never a question of luck and time, although they did play a factor in your survival/accomplishments. From what I read and heard, it was flat-out survival of the fittest. You were either good enough/smart enough to do it, or you weren't.


So with that said am I crazy? And if not, is that the kinda hardcore content ppl are looking for? Or are they looking for time-sinks? Or are time-sinks and hardcore synonymous, and I just never understood the whole hardcore thing?